Ithaca College Intellectual Property Policy
Proposed Revisions
3/30/2015
2.20 Intellectual Property Policy
1. In keeping with its mission and history, Ithaca College seeks to encourage its faculty,
students, and staff to contribute to the world’s scientific, humanistic and artistic
enterprises. The purpose of this policy is to establish uniform guidelines for the
determination of the relative rights and ownership of patents, trademarks, and copyrights
for works created or developed by employees of Ithaca College within the scope of their
employment. This policy seeks to balance support for these enterprises with responsible
stewardship of College resources. As used in this policy, the term “employees” means
both faculty and staff, including continuing and temporary faculty and staff, whether fulltime or part-time, regardless of student status. This policy also governs works created by
students of the College while employed by the College or while engaged in certain
activities within the College as defined by Section 2.20.3.4.
2. The aims of this policy are, first, to encourage creativity among its faculty, students,
and staff; and second, to protect the College’s financial interest and reputation. In some
situations it may be appropriate to vary by explicit agreement between the College and an
inventor or author (and an outside sponsor, if one is involved), the foregoing provisions
concerning rights to obtain a patent or the rights to royalties or other income, or both. At
the request of either the Provost or the inventor or creator, the College may, develop an
agreement that supersedes the general policy.
3. In the case of sponsored works, the agreement with the sponsor shall provide either
that the sponsor reimburse the College for its reasonable expenses and/or that the College
shall have the right to recover its reasonable expenses, including charges for special
equipment used, and the cost of obtaining patent or copyright protection, out of royalty
income, unless the College, in exceptional cases and in advance, agrees to waive a
portion or all of such expenses.
2.20.1 Patents
1. An employee of the College shall promptly report to the Office of the Provost any
discovery, invention, possible invention, apparatus, devices, processes, computer
hardware, computer software, plants, organisms, potentially useful genetic, biological or
chemical material, or other processes or improvements that the employee has made
within the scope of his or her employment, and which the employee has reason to believe
might be useful, patentable, or otherwise protectable. This is to be done regardless of
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whether College funds, or funds from an external source, provided the immediate support
for the work from which the invention resulted. This notification should be done before
publication or detailed announcement in order to allow external expert appraisal and
documentation. The proper method of reporting is by disclosing to the Office of the
Provost in the manner and with the degree of specificity as the Office may prescribe and
by identifying all other individuals who may have an ownership interest in the intellectual
property, including any other Ithaca College faculty, staff, and students as well as
individuals and entities not affiliated with Ithaca College. It should be understood that all
references made within this policy to the Provost or the Vice President for Finance and
Administration should be understood to include their respective designees.
2. Invention disclosures shall be reviewed by the Provost in consultation with the Vice
President for Finance and Administration and a faculty member or an external expert in
the field who will be identified and selected with the approval of the employee-inventor
and the Provost. This initial review will determine whether the invention or discovery is
within the scope of this policy. If it is determined that the invention or discovery is
within the scope of this policy, the Provost, in consultation with the Vice President for
Finance and Administration, shall act within sixty days from the determination to submit
the invention for evaluation by an external agent selected by the College, if they deem
such an evaluation is necessary. If an evaluation by an external agent is deemed
necessary, it will be conducted at the College’s expense and under the terms of an
agreement between such an agent and the College. This evaluation shall be completed
within a reasonable amount of time. Within sixty days after the invention has been
evaluated by an outside agent, the Provost shall notify the employee-inventor of the
College’s decision to seek or not seek a patent. The College will make reasonable efforts
to expedite the review process in unique circumstances in which all parties mutually
agree that time is of the essence to secure patent rights to certain inventions or
discoveries. The employee-inventor is expected to cooperate with the College and the
external agent in order to permit the College and the agent to evaluate the discovery or
invention and to pursue the appropriate steps to obtain a patent. If the College determines
to pursue patent rights, the College will initiate patent application procedures at its own
expense within ninety days of that decision. The Royalty-Sharing Policy shall set forth
the distribution of income in Section 2.20.2.
3. If after a reasonable time for evaluation, the College fails to pursue a patent, or if the
College elects not to pursue a patent, then the employee-inventor may elect to pursue the
patenting and commercial introduction of a potential invention without assistance from
the College. An employee-inventor who obtains a patent under the terms of this
paragraph without assistance from the College shall be entitled to all resulting royalties
and other income. However, the College’s name, trademarks and service marks may not
be used in the marketing of the invention without the written permission of the College.
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The College shall not be obligated to continue the prosecution of a patent application or
renewal and may elect at any time not to retain ownership of intellectual property it owns
under the terms of this policy. If the College elects not to exercise or to relinquish
ownership of intellectual property, it shall assign ownership rights to the employeeinventor, subject to any rights in favor of others with might exist under the terms of a
sponsored program or other arrangement pursuant to which the intellectual property was
created.
4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1, 2, or 3, whenever research or a related activity is
subject to an agreement between an external sponsor and the College that contains
restrictions as to the disposition of discoveries or inventions, any discoveries or
inventions shall be handled in accordance with such agreement. All participants in
externally sponsored research accept the conditions in the agreement between the College
and the sponsor in agreeing to participate in the sponsored research. In negotiating with
sponsors, representatives of the College should strive to obtain the greatest obtainable
latitude and rights for the individual inventor and the College consistent with this policy.
2.20.2 Royalty Sharing
1. The accumulated net income (gross royalties, license fees and/or lump-sum payments
minus administrative, licensing, legal, and other related expenses incurred by the
College) resulting from an invention to which the College has taken title will be divided
as follows.
Cumulative Net Income
First $25,000
Above $25,000
Employee-Inventor
100%
60%
College
0%
40%
2. A portion of the institutional share may be redistributed to the employee-inventor’s
department or other supporting units to be used for operating, research, or student support
as the department chooses, with the President’s approval.
3. The employee-inventors’ share will nominally be shared equally among all inventors
unless they agree otherwise.
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4. Employee-inventors may arrange for their personal shares to be retained by the
College to be used at the individual employee-inventor’s direction (e.g. to support his or
her research).
5. The employee-inventor’s share will continue even if she or he ceases to have an
employment relationship with Ithaca College.
2.20.3 Copyright
1. Except as qualified elsewhere in Section 2.20.3, a faculty member of the College is
entitled to ownership of copyright and royalties or other income derived from
copyrightable works, including books, films, software, works of art, and other audio
recordings, lecture notes, textbooks, distance learning materials, speeches, podcasts,
documentaries, musical scores, dramatic works and accompanying music, choreographic
works, educational courseware, electronic applications and other media and materials that
are personal intellectual or artistic products, known or hereafter developed, throughout
the world and for the full term of the copyright including all extensions and renewals.
These rights shall include, but not be limited to, all rights of copyright registration and
publication, the right to create derivative works, and all other rights incident to copyright
ownership in all media known or unknown. It is expected that when entering into
agreements for the publication and distribution of textbooks and other copyrighted course
materials that faculty members request that the College shall have rights to use such
works for internal instructional, educational, and administrative purposes.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, above, whenever research or a related activity is subject
to an agreement between a sponsor and the College that contains restrictions concerning
copyright or the use of copyrighted materials, all materials shall be handled in accordance
with such agreement.
3. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 above, whenever copyrightable work is created by a
member of the non-teaching staff as part of the employee’s College responsibilities, the
work shall be treated as a work-for-hire under the terms of the Copyright Act of 1976,
and the ownership will ordinarily be retained by the College.
4. Where a copyrightable work is designed and produced as part of a course or other
academic requirement, or is substantially designed by a student or students under a
professor’s supervision, the student or students involved shall be entitled to ownership of
copyright and royalties or other income derived from the work. However , if a student’s
work is designed or produced outside of a course and is not created within the context of
an academic requirement, but the work is supported by an unusual contribution of
College resources or occurs within the scope of a student’s employment at the College,
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then the College shall own the copyright to the work. Examples include but are not
limited to the content produced for College radio and television broadcasts. Students and
former students shall retain a non-exclusive, non-transferable, worldwide, royalty-free
license to use copies of their personal work created within these contexts, however they
may not sell this work without permission of the College. The work shall remain the
property of the College and the College reserves all rights to restrict its use at any time
and in any manner that it chooses, even if such restriction results in a disadvantage or loss
to the student.
5. In instances where a faculty member’s copyrightable work is supported by an unusual
contribution of College resources, such as student involvement outside of a course or
other academic requirement, a disproportionate amount of staff time, networks,
equipment, or a large expenditure of educational supplies, the College shall own and/or
have license rights to the work, in whole or in part, and accordingly is entitled to a share
of royalties or reimbursement of costs from project income. Typical internal grants are
not normally considered an unusual contribution of college resources. The patent royalty
table should be used as a guide.
6. In instances where a faculty member is involved in an arrangement with the College to
develop a particular work, the prior understanding or formal contract between the College
and the creator concerning copyright ownership shall govern.
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